States fall in line for July 1 GST roll out

NEW DELHI: In a major move towards creating a massive transformation in the economic reforms, the GST council on Saturday issued its stamp of approval for all pending rules that include transition provisions and returns, with all states unanimously toeing the line in the favor of Goods and Services Tax (GST) roll out on July 1.
“After a spate of deliberations, the council has finally cleared the transition rules, and all states are in the favor of the July 1 roll out,” informed Thomas Isaac, Kerala Finance Minister.
His statement has assumed huge significance in the wake of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s adamant statement that she intends to threadbare oppose the roll out of the new indirect tax regime in its current form.
While the Trinamool Congress chief Mamta continues to remain defiant and is hell bent on opposing the indirect tax regime, her efforts seems to be premeditated to delay the rollout of GST, which was slated to come into effect from April 1.
According to sources, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is expected to fix on tax rate of gold, footwear and textiles soon.
Last month, the GST Council had incorporated over 1,200 goods and 500 services in the tax brackets of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.
As per the draft transition law, after GST is implemented, companies can claim credit of up to 40 percent of their Central GST dues for the excise duty paid on stocks held by businesses prior to the roll out.
Meanwhile, sharpening his attack against GST implementation, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has alleged that the ground-level preparation of the finance ministry is pathetic, and its implementation will prove to be anti- national.